Product information

Shrimp

There are over 340 species of shrimp worldwide that have commercial value. Of these a select few hold importance in the US fresh seafood market. All of which fall under warm water shrimp, fresh water shrimp and cold water shrimp.

White shrimp are the most popular warm water species in America because of their sweet taste and pleasing texture. They have light gray shells which turn pink upon cooking. Their meat is also pink when cooked. White shrimp producers include America, Mexico, Ecuador and even India and China.

Pink shrimp are harvested from the Gulf of Mexico to Central America. Their shells are pink and very smooth to the touch. After cooking their shells turn dark pink and their meat is pearly white with pink highlights. Their meat is mildly delicious and firm.

Rock shrimp are caught in the deep water off of Florida’s East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. They are commonly sold naked without their shells. Their meat is sweet and chewy and turns white with red highlights when cooked. Normally it takes 25 or more to add up to 1 pound.

Brown shrimp have tan shells that turn pearly when cooked and pearly white meat. They are harvested in the Gulf of Mexico and on Mexico’s East and West Coasts.

Tiger prawns are farm raised in Asian countries such as China and India. They are named for the black and white stripes that appear on their shells. Their shells turn red and meat turns white with red highlights when cooked. Their taste is mild. Because of their higher water content they tend to shrink more than other warm water varieties when cooked.

S. America Wild Shrimp

Cooked Shrimp

From ASIA or SOUTH AMERICA COOKED with Tail/On or Tail/Off

Sizes: 13-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30,31-40, 41-50 & 51-60 pieces per lb

Squid

Squid are cephalopods of the order teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles. Squid are strong swimmers and certain species can ‘fly’ for short distances out of the water.

The main body mass is enclosed in the mantle, which has a swimming fin along each side. These fins, unlike in other marine organisms, are not the main source of locomotion in most species.

The skin is covered in chromatophores, which enable the squid to change color to suit its surroundings, making it practically invisible. The underside is also almost always lighter than the topside, to provide camouflage from both prey and predator.

The majority are no more than 60 centimetres (24 in) long, although the giant squid may reach 13 meters (43 ft).

From almost everywhere in the world Tubes Only or Tubes & TentaclesSizes: 3-5inch, 5-8inch & 8-12inch per piece

Octopus

The Common Octopus hunts at dusk. Crabs, crayfish and bivalve mollusks (two-shelled molluscs such as cockles) are preferred, although the octopus will eat almost anything it can catch. It is able to change colour to blend in with its surroundings, and is able to jump upon any unwary prey that strays across its path. The prey is paralyzed by a nerve poison, which the octopus secretes, and the octopus is able to grasp its prey using its powerful tentacles with their two rows of suckers. If the victim is a shelled mollusc, the octopus uses its beak to punch a hole in the shell before sucking out the fleshy contents.

Training experiments have shown that the Common Octopus can distinguish the brightness, size, shape, and horizontal or vertical orientation of objects. They are intelligent enough to learn how to unscrew a jar and are known to raid lobster traps.

The Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is the most studied of all octopus species. Its natural range extends from the Mediterranean Sea and the southern coast of England to at least Senegal in Africa. It also occurs off the Azores, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde Islands. Vulgaris is caught by bottom trawls on a huge scale off the northwestern coast of Africa. More than 20,000 tonnes are harvested annually.

Lobster

Rock or Spiny lobsters as they are also called, originate for the most part in warm water environments, such as Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean. They don’t have the large front claws we so often associate with lobster, instead their identifiable features include hard shells and long antennae. There are more than 40 claw-less, warm and cold water species in the world, some of which can grow as large as 15 pounds with most weighing in at 1 to 5 pounds. These lobsters are the source of most frozen lobster tail available on most of the restaurants menus.

New England or Maine lobsters originate from cold water environments. These are the ones with the large front claws. Maine lobsters outgrow their tails before they hit 2 pounds. The larger they grow, the more disproportionate their tail becomes when compared to the rest of their body. For example a 1 pound Maine species will yield only 5-6 ounces of tail meat, while a 1 pound New Zealand claw-less yields 7 – 8 ounces of tail meat. Because of this New England lobster tails are more expensive.

South Africa Lobster Tails

Brazil Lobster Tails

Scallops

Like the true oysters, scallops have a central adductor muscle, and thus the inside of their shells has a characteristic central scar, marking the point of attachment for this muscle. The adductor muscle of scallops is larger and more developed than that of oysters, because they are active swimmers; scallops are in fact the only migratory bivalve. Their shell shape tends to be highly regular, recalling one archetypal form of a seashell, and because of this pleasing geometric shape, the scallop shell is a common decorative motion.

Scallops have up to 100 simple eyes strung around the edges of their mantles like a string of beads. They are reflector eyes, about one mm in diameter, with a retina that is more complex than those of other bivalves. Their eyes contain two retina types, one responding to light and the other to abrupt darkness, such as the shadow of a nearby predator. They cannot resolve shapes, but can detect changing patterns of light and motion.

Scallops are most commonly harvested using scallop dredges or bottom trawls. Recently, scallops harvested by divers, hand-caught on the ocean floor, have entered the marketplace. In contrast to scallops captured by a dredge across the sea floor, diver scallops tend to be less gritty. They may also be more ecologically friendly, as the harvesting method does not cause damage to undersea flora or fauna. In addition, dredge-harvesting methods often result in delays of up to two weeks before the scallops arrive at market, which can cause the flesh to break down, and results in a much shorter shelf life.

Alaskan King, Dungeness, Blue Crabs just to name a few..

Alaskan waters offer 3 species of commercially available king crab; Red King Crab, Blue King Crab and Brown King Crab. The Bering Sea is where the majority of king crab is caught, however it also comes from the Norton Sound and south eastern Alaska. King crabs are among the most sought after crabs in the world and are commonly sold in top restaurants.

Red King Crab – The most sought after crab in the world, Red Kings are caught in Bristol Bay and the Norton Sound. Every year hundreds of boats set out to catch their share of this prized crab during the extremely short harvest season which commonly lasts less than 1 week. During this short time upwards of 10 million pounds are caught to quench the world’s appetite for this Alaskan delicacy for another year

Blue King Crab – This species is known for its giant claws is among the largest in the world. Caught in the waters off St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands, blue king crab are brown with blue overtones when caught. When cooked they turn bright orange and are often sold as red king crab for this reason. Blue king crabs taste very similar to their red cousins and are an absolute delight to enjoy with friends and family.

Brown king crab (sold as golden king) – the smaller cousins of red and blue king crab, golden kings are caught off the aleutian chain. Their taste is also very similar to their relatives and not to be overlooked due to their smaller size. Because of their size, brown kings are usually cheaper than red or blue.

Dungeness crab which can be found all along the west coast of north america got it’s name from the former town of dungeness, washington where it was first commercially harvested. It is the most popular pacific crab and usually weighs 1.5 to 3 pounds. Its meat has a sweet, mild nutty taste and is very tender.

Blue crabs, widely called maryland crabs are the most abundant species of crab found on the us east coast. They have beautiful bluish green coloring that turns red when they are cooked and you can find them 4 inches to 6 inches and larger. Although most are consumed as hard shell crabs, if they are caught just after molting they can be eaten unpeeled as soft shell crabs.

Alaska King Grab Legs

Salted or Soaked Cod

Bacalhau is the portuguese word for codfish, but this word almost always refers to dried and salted cod, salt cod for short, since fresh cod is rarely consumed in portugal. There are countless bacalhau recipes in portugal’s history. Long before anyone thought of the modern invention we now know as the refrigerator, portuguese discoverers dried and salted cod in order to preserve it for long voyages. Portugal being heavily roman catholic also meant there were many days throughout the year (fridays, lent, and other religious holidays) where only fish could be eaten, so the use of bacalhau became a staple in portuguese cuisine and remains so to this day.

It is commonly said that there are more than 365 ways to cook bacalhau in portugal, one for each day of the year; other people say there are 1001 ways, depending on region, tradition and creativity.

To soak the fish/ fish pieces in cold water for a number of hours. The thicker the cod is, the longer it should soak to lose most of its saltiness. 24 hours is the minimum period of time for any cod portion to desalt properly.

To change the water several times during the desalting process

to guarantee that the water remains cold while the cod is soaking in it. That can

be achieved by placing the recipient in the refrigerator.

Atlantic Cod Dried in the USSize: Extra-Large whole or Soaked by the Piece

Sushi

The increasing popularity of sushi around the world has resulted in variations typically found in North America and Europe, but rarely in Japan. Such creations to suit the Western palate were initially fueled by the invention of the California roll. A wide variety of popular rolls has evolved since.Tuna SteaksSwordfishRed SnapperTilapiaGrouperMahi-MahiAAA Saku Black